Closure unit

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a closure unit adapted for use in an opening provided in a wall, in a sealing relation. The unit comprises a cover plate mounted on one side of said opening and an anchoring mechanism arranged at the other side for securing the cover plate against said opening. The anchoring mechanism comprises adjustment means rotatably mounted on said cover plate, operable from both sides of said opening, thrusting means threadedly movable in an axial direction upon rotation thereof, and engageable and disengageable means for gripping said cover plate over said opening, operatively connected to said thrusting means.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard Ferrante [56] I References Cited Flushing UNITED STATES PATENTS g g- 3 1, 3,375,612 4/1968 Busuttil 220/25x 9 t Patented Feb 16, 1971 3,394,834 7/1968 Cigllano 220/25 [73] Assignee BFG Marine Supply Co., Inc. Primary Examiner-George T. Hall New York, NY. Attorney-Joseph F. Padlon a corporation of New York ABSTRACT: The present invention relates to a closure unit adapted for use in an opening provided in a wall, in a sealing relation. The unit comprises a cover plate mounted on one side of said opening and an anchoring mechanism arranged at [54] CLOSURE UNIT the other side for securing the cover plate against said open- 7Chims5 Drawing Figs ing. The anchoring mechanism comprises adjustment means [52] U.S.Cl 220/25; rotatably mounted on said cover plate, operable from both 49/465 sides of said opening, thrusting means threadedly movable in [51] Int. Cl B65d 45/00 an axial direction upon rotation thereof, and engageable and [50] Field of Search 220/25, 55; disengageable means for gripping said cover plate over said 49/465 opening, operatively connected to said thrusting means.

CLOSURE UNIT The present invention relates to'a deck scuttle and a cover of the type commonly employed to provide access to a deck from one compartment to another and is concerned primarily with the provision of novel means for anchoring the cover over the deck scuttle in a sealing relation A scuttle the type with which this invention is concerned ordinarily comprises a cover that is shaped to conform to the shape of the deck scuttle on which it is to be mounted. Extending downwardly from the central portion of the cover and formed integrally therewith is a dome-shape boss having an internally threaded bore. A packing element is interposed between the cover and its seat so that when the two members are pressed together by a clamping screw operatively associated with the cover seat that passes through the threaded bore, a watertight seal is obtained.

The prior art has provided several contributions to this particular field and also various types of mechanism and devices have been employed for securing a cover, in a proper position over the deck scuttle. However, bulky and expensive devices have resulted and most of them have been inadequate because of the lack of efficiency as well as the tendency of rupture because of undue strain on some of the parts thereof.

n the other hand, previous scuttles require that a special member such as a scuttle frame or a supporting rim be employed in conjunction with the improved cover. As it is evident for those skilled in the art, this fact unnecessarily increases the cost of manufacture of the final product.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difficulties in and to the prior art devices by the provision of an economical, simple and effective scuttle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new scuttle which may be easily held in an opening provided in the deck of a ship, by the provision of a novel anchoring mechanism. The primary function such an anchoring device must achieve is to apply sufficient pressure to the cover so that the gasket is compressed to the extent necessary for sealing purposes.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new enclosing mechanism which permits the cover to be quickly and easily secured or removed from the inside of the compartment as well as from outside.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved closure unit that may be used to cover larger openings,

particularly those provided in tankers which can be easily and quickly removed for aeration and cleaning out purposes.

Other desirable objects attained by the invention and further novel features of construction and combination of parts are set forth or will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates certain present practical embodiments of the invention. Structure, however, may be further modified and changed as regards the present disclosure, all within the true intent and broad scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

FIG. 1 in the drawings is a top plan view of the deck cover constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, showing the cover secured in the opening of the deck by the anchoring mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a broken and part sectional side elevation;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are details taken along lines 4-4 and 5'5 of FIG. 3, respectively.

Referring now in detail to the the drawings, the reference numeral denotes a scuttle constructed in accordance with the present invention. Said scuttle consists of a cover plate 12 and an anchoring mechanism.

The cover plate 12 is mounted over an opening 16 provided in the deck wall 18 of the ship andcomprises a circular flat shaped body 20 which overlaps the opening 16 and rests upon the circumference surface 22 of the deck 18 adjacent the opening 16.

The cover plate 12 includes at its outer periphery downwardly projecting cylindrical portion or rim 24 which has a greater diameter than the diameter of the opening 16. The ring 24 includes a peripheral groove 26 to receive an O-ring gasket 28 preferably made of a resilient material such as rubber or neoprene.

The cover plate 12 has an outer and inner faces l2'l2 respectively. The inner face 12' includes a downwardly projecting cone central portion 30 having a bore 32, an annular step 34 and a circular concave cavity 36. The purpose of these elements will be more fully described as the description proceeds.

The inner face 12 of the cover plate 12 also includes a plurality of brackets 38 which extend downwardly, substantially perpendicular to the cover plate 12, between the ring 24 and the portion 30. Each bracket 38 includes at its free end a guiding extension 38' which is provided with a bore 40. Brackets 38 are spaced apart 120 from each other.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 each extension 33' has its longitudinal axis E which converges to a point P located on the cen tral axis C of said cover plate 12. Axis A forms a substantially 45 angle with said central axis C.

The anchoring mechanism 14 comprises adjustment means 42 carried by said cover plate 12 operable from both sides of the above-mentioned opening 16, thrusting means 44 and engageable and disengageable means 46 capable of gripping cover plate 12 over opening 16 in a watertight sealing relation.

The adjustment means comprises a handle 48 which has a downwardly extending bar bearing surface 50 and an elongated screw 52, which extends through bore 32 and has one end connected to said surface. As it can be seen in FIG. 3, handle 48 is arranged at the outer side of said opening 16 while the screw 52 is located at the inner side thereof and it is rotatably supported in said annular step 34 through said bearing surface 50.

A retaining ring 34 or similar fastening means is secured over screw 52, below the bore 32, in order to prevent the axial movement of screw 52.

Handle 48 has an upper portion 48' which flushes with the outer face 12' of said cover plate 12 and a bottom portion 48" which has a complementary surface to that of said circular concave cavity 36. The free end of the screw 52 is provided with a turning bar 56 which extends transversely across a hole 56' provided in said screw. Therefore, the anchoring mechanism 14 is provided with adequate means to be locked or unlocked from inside or outside of said opening 16.

Thrusting means M comprises a wedge-shaped nut 58 which includes a plurality of radial extension 58' spaced apart from each other, substantially 120. Each radial extension 58 has a longitudinal slot 60 which includes a retaining wall portion 60', extended inwardly. The wedge shaped nut 58 is threadedly mounted on said screw 52 for its axial movement, up and down, in accordance with the rotation thereof.

The above-mentioned engageable and disengageable means 46 comprises a plurality of self-alignment gripping fingers 62 having their longitudinal axes oriented upwardly forming a substantially 45 angle to the central axis C of said cover plate 12. The self alignment gripping fingers 62 are slidably mounted within holes or bores 40 provided in said journal extension 38'.

The inner end 62' of said fine finger 62 is operably associated with said slot 60 through said retaining wall 60' housed into a guide slot 620 provided near the inner end 62'.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the longitudinal axis E of extension 38 and the longitudinal axis S of the slot 60 intersect forming a substantially angle.

For the operation of the novel anchoring mechanism it is only necessary to operate handle 48 to rotate screw 52 in a right-handed direction. Consequently, nut 58 will move upward along screw 52 pushing the self alignment gripping fingers 62 together upwardly and outwardly until the outer end 62" has engaged the inner wall 18. Further rotation of handle 48 will force unit 58 upwardly and therefore, the gripping fingers 62 against wall 18 bringing cover plate 12 tightly over opening 16.

The rotation of handle 48 in a left-handed direction will disengage fingers 62 from wall 18 and the entire closure unit will be readily and quickly removed from opening 16.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown and above particularly described within the principle and scope as set forth in the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A closure unit adapted for use in an opening provided in a wall in sealing relation comprising a cover plate mounted on one side of said opening, having outer and inner faces, said inner face including sealing means adjacently disposed at the periphery of said cover plate and having supporting brackets downwardly projecting therefrom towards the other side of said opening, said supporting brackets being radially spaced apart from each other, and an anchoring mechanism arranged at the other side of said opening for securing the cover plate against said opening, said mechanism comprising adjustment means carried by said cover plate rotatably mounted thereon, and being operable from both sides of said opening, thrusting means threadedly mounted on said adjustment means, movable in an axial direction upon rotation thereof, and engageable and disengageable means for gripping said cover plate over said opening, said means being operatively connected to said thrusting means to effect the projection or retraction of said gripping means in and out of engagement with said wall, upon the axial movement of said thrusting means.

2. A closure unit, according to claim 1, said adjustment means comprising a handle having a downwardly extending bearing surface and an elongated threaded rod having one end connected to said bearing surface, said handle being arranged at one side of said cover plate while said elongated threaded rod being disposed on the other side, said cover plate including a central projecting portion having means for rotatably supporting said bearing surface, said handle having an upper portion flush with the outer face of said cover plate and said thrusting means being threaded on said elongated threaded rod.

7 A closure unit according to claim 2, said elongated threaded rod being swivelly supported in said cover plate by retaining means positioned below the inner face of said cover plate to prevent the axial movement thereof, said elongated threaded rod including at its free end further means for turning said rod whereby said cover plate will .approach to said opening into sealing relation or be spaced therefrom.

4. A closure unit according to claim 1, said engageable and disengageable means comprising a plurality of self-alignment gripping fingers radially spaced apart from each other having their longitudinal axes orientated upwardly forming an angle to the central axis of said cover, each finger being slidably guided in said supporting brackets and having the inner end operably connected to said thrusting means to effect simultaneous projection and retraction to the outer end ends of said finger in an out of locking engagement with said wall.

5. A closure unit according to claim 4, said supporting brackets include at their free ends journal extensions having their longitudinal axes meeting at a common point over the central axis of said cover plate, and including a longitudinal hole, said gripping fingers being slidably guided within said slot and being operably associated thereto by a transversal guided groove provided at the inner end of said gripping finger.

7. A closure unit according to claim 6, the longitudinal axis of said gripping fingers and the longitudinal axis of said slot forming a substantially angle. 

1. A closure unit adapted for use in an opening provided in a wall in sealing relation comprising a cover plate mounted on one side of said opening, having outer and inner faces, said inner face including sealing means adjacently disposed at the periphery of said cover plate and having supporting brackets downwardly projecting therefrom towards the other side of said opening, said supporting brackets being radially spaced apart from each other, and an anchoring mechanism arranged at the other side of said opening for securing the cover plate against said opening, said mechanism comprising adjustment means carried by said cover plate rotatably mounted thereon, and being operable from both sides of said opening, thrusting means threadedly mounted on said adjustment means, movable in an axial direction upon rotation thereof, and engageable and disengageable means for gripping said cover plate over said opening, said means being operatively connected to said thrusting means to effect the projection or retraction of said gripping means in and out of engagement with said wall, upon the axial movement of said thrusting means.
 2. A closure unit, according to claim 1, said adjustment means comprising a handle having a downwardly extending bearing surface and an elongated threaded rod having one end connected to said bearing surface, said handle being arranged at one side of said cover plate while said elongated threaded rod being disposed on the other side, said cover plate including a central projecting portion having means for rotatably supporting said bearing surface, said handle having an upper portion flush with the outer face of said cover plate and said thrusting means being threaded on said elongated threaded rod.
 4. A closure unit according to claim 1, said engageable and disengageable meanS comprising a plurality of self-alignment gripping fingers radially spaced apart from each other having their longitudinal axes orientated upwardly forming an angle to the central axis of said cover, each finger being slidably guided in said supporting brackets and having the inner end operably connected to said thrusting means to effect simultaneous projection and retraction to the outer end ends of said finger in an out of locking engagement with said wall.
 5. A closure unit according to claim 4, said supporting brackets include at their free ends journal extensions having their longitudinal axes meeting at a common point over the central axis of said cover plate, and including a longitudinal hole, said gripping fingers being slidably guided within said holes.
 6. A closure unit, according to claim 2, said thrusting means comprising a wedge-shaped unit having radial projections spaced apart from each other, each projection including a longitudinal slot, said wedge-shaped unit being disposed on said elongated threaded rod for its axial movement upon rotation thereof, said slot including a retaining wall portion, each gripping finger being slidably guided within the corresponding slot and being operably associated thereto by a transversal guided groove provided at the inner end of said gripping finger.
 7. A closure unit according to claim 6, the longitudinal axis of said gripping fingers and the longitudinal axis of said slot forming a substantially 90* angle.
 7. A closure unit according to claim 2, said elongated threaded rod being swivelly supported in said cover plate by retaining means positioned below the inner face of said cover plate to prevent the axial movement thereof, said elongated threaded rod including at its free end further means for turning said rod whereby said cover plate will approach to said opening into sealing relation or be spaced therefrom. 